Untouchable Lovers

Chapter 171: Chapter 154 A Sudden Change on the Way

The carriage had stopped at some point, and Boss Ren, who had been sitting by the entrance, was nowhere to be seen. Outside, tumultuous noises hinted at trouble, as if a brawl was erupting. Startled, Chu Yu quickly came to her senses. She pulled on Rong Zhi, then slightly lifted the curtain to stealthily peer outside.

What had happened?

No one answered her, but the scene before her eyes did.

Outdoors, two groups were clashing fiercely, with the caravan’s side consisting of bodyguards and laborers, while the opponents were horse thieves wielding nail hammers and large knives—roughly forty or fifty in count.

The caravan’s bodyguards and laborers, not being professional fighters, were quickly overwhelmed and mercilessly slain by the horse thieves in greater numbers. The horse thieves encircled the caravan, dispatching four or five men to search each carriage and check the bodies on the ground, finishing off anyone still breathing to ensure their death.

Seeing the bodies scattered on the ground, Chu Yu felt a surge of fear and instinctively shrank back into the carriage, bumping into something. She turned her head to see it was Rong Zhi.

Noticing Rong Zhi’s calm demeanor, Chu Yu also relaxed a bit and whispered to him, “Is there anything we can do?”

Rong Zhi shook his head, replying in an equally soft voice, “There’s no way, there are too many horse thieves. I can’t handle them.”

Killing requires the right timing, location, and social conditions.

After a pause, he continued with a smile, “The Princess doesn’t need to worry. They are only after money, they won’t harm us.”

Two horse thieves were checking each carriage. When they finally reached Chu Yu and Rong Zhi’s carriage, they lifted the curtain and saw the two, their eyes lighting up as they pointed with their knife tips, “You two, get down!”

Rong Zhi patted Chu Yu to reassure her and then gracefully stepped forward, leaping down from the carriage. Once he was standing, he politely inquired, “May I know who the leader is? I would like to discuss something.”

Before he could finish, one of the stronger and taller horse thieves harshly slapped him, sending Rong Zhi tumbling to the ground next to a small tree, eliciting laughter from the surrounding horse thieves.

Unable to contain herself, Chu Yu cried out and rushed from the carriage to Rong Zhi’s side, clumsily helping him up, “Are you alright?”

Rong Zhi groaned softly, turned his face towards her, his handsome features contorted with pain, his eyes tightly closed, a bright red handprint visible on his cheek. Seeing Rong Zhi in such a state provoked further laughter from the horse thieves.

Chu Yu felt a surge of anger flooding her mind, but before she could react, she detected her hand being tightly gripped by Rong Zhi. He held her so firmly that it even caused her pain, instantly calming her down as well.

No, the way Rong Zhi was behaving… was an act.

He had intentionally taken the hit.

Although it might not have looked like a deliberate provocation, Rong Zhi had casually gotten down from the carriage and moved past the horse thieves to find their leader. This behavior gave the questioned horse thief an impression of being disrespected, prompting a violent response from the hot-tempered man.

In other words, that slap was actually sought by Rong Zhi himself.

Before the horse thieves could finish laughing, a stream of bright red liquid trickled from the corner of Rong Zhi’s mouth, he had spat out blood. Meanwhile, his hand hidden in his sleeve was still tightly holding onto Chu Yu.

“Snap!”

Another loud slap echoed, and Chu Yu turned towards the sound, only to see that the horse thief who had previously struck Rong Zhi was now hit by an even taller man. His face twisted to one side as the bearded man cursed loudly, “Damn it! Don’t damage the kid! They are all treasures!”

After hitting his own comrade, the man walked over in two steps, his towering stature standing before Rong Zhi as his voice boomed like thunder, “Kid, what do you want from me?”

Rong Zhi raised his hand, signaling Chu Yu to help him up, but as he lifted his hand halfway, he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. The crimson liquid splattered on his pristine clothes, leaving a trail of vivid stains. It took a while before he gently gasped for air and looked up at the horse bandit leader, weakly saying, “We are from the Yu Family of Jiangling. If the leader permits us to return home, I can have my family send a large ransom.”

The leader grinned, “The Yu Family of Jiangling? Our intention was to ransom you anyway. Your identity makes it easy, but we’ll only release you once the money arrives.”

With that, he waved his hand, ordering his men to tie up everyone else captured, “Be careful, everyone! Don’t damage them; we’re ransoming these people!”

Chu Yu glanced around and saw that among those captured with them were Boss Ren, the supervisor and accountant of the caravan, and a few other small merchants traveling with the caravan. The horse thieves were clearly contemplating ransoming them for money, which explained why Rong Zhi had mentioned they wouldn’t be harmed.

Chu Yu and Rong Zhi received the most favorable treatment; while other captives were tied together and made to walk, they were not only unbound, but were also allowed to ride in a carriage alone—the same one they had been traveling in. Though many horse thieves guarded them, they had not suffered any more physical injuries.

However, Chu Yu’s mood was not good, as Rong Zhi lay beside her, his face deathly pale and his eyes tightly shut. She knelt beside him, holding his hand tightly, fearing he would slip away.

After getting back on the carriage, Rong Zhi immediately lost all his strength and almost let go of her hand.

After a long while, feeling the hand she held twitch slightly, Chu Yu softly called out, “How are you?”

Rong Zhi did not open his eyes, but slightly shook his head, using his fingers to write on Chu Yu’s palm, “It’s nothing serious. I just need to rest for a bit.”

Chu Yu pressed her lips together, and mimicking his method, conversed using her hand, “Why did you intentionally take that slap?” By now, the imprint of the slap on Rong Zhi’s face had begun to swell, looking quite pitiful.

She felt distressed seeing that mark.

Rong Zhi still had his eyes closed, but the corners of his mouth curved up slightly as his fingertips continued to write, “It was to remind them preemptively that we are valuable goods that should not be harmed lightly. Without that slap, how could we be as comfortable as we are now?”

Chu Yu bit her lip and slowly traced her fingers across his pristine palm, “But there was no need to abuse yourself like that…”

Rong Zhi’s wrist twirled, and his fingertip fluttered across Chu Yu’s hand like a butterfly, landing in her palm, “There’s another use. As I fell, I left a signal under the tree root. If Hua Cuo finds it, he can deduce our situation from the signal.”

Hearing him say this, although Chu Yu still had her reservations, she didn’t pursue it further. However, she quickly recalled another concern, “You used someone else’s name earlier. What if the horse thieves really go to Jiangling and find there is no prominent Yu family, or that the Yu family doesn’t have either of us?”

But at this time, Rong Zhi did not respond, and even the hand holding Chu Yu’s completely let go. It was unclear if he had fallen asleep or fainted.

The sound of horse hooves and rolling carriage wheels continued. Chu Yu glanced anxiously outside the carriage. They had only wanted to hitch a ride to the nearest city, but unfortunately, they had run into bandits, making the road ahead increasingly long and uncertain.

Fortunately, they were still alive.

Holding Rong Zhi’s hand, though she still couldn’t see the way forward, Chu Yu suddenly felt a bit more at ease.